The Shreveport Mudbugs (12-7) stumbled in their own end and came up short to the Lone Star Brahmas, 2-1 Friday night at the Nytex Sports Centre.
The Brahmas took advantage of a Bugs misplay in their own zone and Joey Baez was able to score his 12th goal in front at 16:43 of the 1st period giving Lone Star the 1-0 edge. Lone Star just led 4-2 in SOG after the opening period of play.
The Mudbugs failed to capitalize on their opportunities in the 2nd period despite out-shooting Lone Star 12-5. The Bugs couldn’t score on a 4-3 PP and the Brahmas were able to bank one in at 18:49 which was a dagger from Brendan Westbrook making it a 2-0 contest.
The Bugs took a devastating blow as Captain David Breazeale suffered a nasty upper-body injury from a hit from C.J. Walker from the far boards. Breazeale was able to walk off on his own power with minor assistance from Lone Star’s trainer. Shreveport would come back into the game as Sam Miller ripped home his sixth goal from the slot at 12:25 of the 3rd to cut the deficit, 2-1. Tim Khokhlachev and Jacob Smith earned the assists. That would be the closest the Bugs would get as they were unable to tie the game with the extra attacker and out-shooting Lone Star, 21-14 overall in the game.
The Bugs and Brahmas will conclude their two-game series from the Nytex Sports Centre tomorrow night with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m.